Correlating information between internet and call center environments

ABSTRACT

Coordination of information at the network-based level between call centers connectable over a telecommunications network, such as the telephone network, and a packet network, such as the Internet, creates improved integration of and bonding between a customer&#39;s interaction with a Web site and with a call center. Information about the customer and the customer&#39;s Web interaction are delivered to the call center agent along with the call, leading to increased productivity and efficiency in call handling as well as improved call routing.  
     Calls may be routed to existing call centers based upon information from the Web experience, and information from the user&#39;s Web interaction is shared with the call center. Web interaction information is passed to existing call centers using known call center external control methods, such as DNIS signaling. Information about the Web experience may also be “whispered” to the call center agent, and an agent may “push” Web pages for review by the customer. As a result, customer acquisition and sales tools more powerful than a mere click-to-callback tool can be made available with a combined marketing approach using the Web and call centers.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to the Internet and to call-centerenvironments in general and, more particularly, to a way of correlatinginformation between a packet network, such as the Internet, andcall-centers connectable over a telecommunications network, such as thetelephone network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The Internet is a dynamic packet network consisting of millionsof interconnected computers which could run several applications, suchas the World Wide Web. The Internet is implemented using a large varietyof connections between those millions of computers. Internet access isreadily available to individuals across the globe. Various on-lineservice providers, such as America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, Netcom,etc., provide client connections over the publicswitched telephonenetwork (PSTN) using modems or integrated services digital network(ISDN) adapters. These on-line service providers maintain servers on theInternet providing client access to the Internet.

[0003] The Internet's global and exponential growth is common knowledgetoday. The recent developments on the World Wide Web user interfaces andinformation navigation software such as the Netscape Web browser,coupled with a continuously growing number of public access providers,are making the Internet a fundamental component of the information age,if not the information super highway itself.

[0004] A World Wide Web site on the Internet typically resides on acomputer known as a server, which is accessed through the Internet by auser utilizing a client computer. A Web site consists of one or more Webpages comprising scripts written in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)and typically resides on a server compatible with HyperText TransportProtocol (HTTP, a protocol for interfacing with the Internet). Pages ata Web site are typically accessible and viewed by the user throughsoftware called a Web browser, which typically resides on the user'sclient computer. A Web browser such as the one by Netscape interpretsWeb page HTML scripts to provide a graphical user interface that allowseasy access to various services over the Internet.

[0005] The client computer is capable of providing output for display ofa Web page to a user, for example through a video display. Such outputmay take the form of at least one of textual, graphic, animation, video,audio, or virtual object media. The client computer is also capable ofaccepting input from a user. Such input may be provided by means such asa keyboard, a mouse, a telephone touch pad, a television remote control,and so on.

[0006] Users may browse the World Wide Web for virtually any kind ofinformation, including information having content derived from one ormore media, such as words, sounds or images. Increasingly, businessesare establishing Web sites as a means of providing information to andattracting potential customers, and Web sites are emerging as a means oftransacting business. Users may locate a company's Web site by, e.g.,using one of a number of existing search engines available over theInternet, or browsing other Web sites containing links to the company'sWeb site, or entering directly the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), whichrepresents an “address” for the site. Typically, Web browsing takesplace in the context of an interactive communication session, where theuser may, for example, direct the Web browsing session by choosing tofollow hypertext links found in Web sites and/or may respond toinformation located at various Web sites.

[0007] A vast number of businesses and other organizations, such aseducational and charitable institutions, employ call centers to handle avariety of telecommunications tasks. Businesses commonly set up oremploy call centers that their customers, who may be other businesses orindividual consumers, may reach by dialing a toll-free “800” number.Call centers are an important means of providing information to andattracting potential customers, as well as transacting business. Forexample, call centers may be used for taking orders for products orservices, providing customer assistance or technical support, and othersales, marketing and support activities. Call centers have found wideuse in, e.g., the travel industry for handling reservations and thebanking and financial service industry for account servicing.

[0008] A call center utilizes a telecommunications system that may be assimple as a single telephone manned by a single individual, or it mayrange from a group of agents manning a bank of telephones to an entiredepartment or company having banks of telephones networked throughprivate branch exchange (PBX) equipment dedicated to handling hundredsor thousands of calls. A call center may be located in a single facilitywith one PBX or in multiple facilities with multiple PBXs.

[0009] Call centers often employ interactive voice response (IVR)technology to, e.g., assist users in locating an available call centeragent who is able to handle the user's request. A IVR system is,typically, a menu-driven system that prompts a caller to press “1” for afirst option, to press “2” for a second option, and so forth, oralternatively prompts the user to enter a telephone extension, apassword, an account number, or the like.

[0010] Call centers also employ Dialed Number Identification Service(DNIS) signaling techniques. DNIS signaling is a well known andunderstood convention which, in the call center context, typicallyinvolves passing a code to a call center along with a callrepresentative of the telephone or communications number called; theDNIS code may be used by the call center to further route the call whereappropriate.

[0011] Call centers enable business to be transacted interactively, inreal time. However, call centers typically require significant staffingto handle an expected volume of calls due to inefficiencies created bythe need for agents to obtain information about the customer and thesubject of the customer's inquiry.

[0012] Web sites provide another means of conducting business, albeitnot in real time; Web sites also do not have the level of interactionpossible with a live customer-to-agent telephone call. However, Websites offer the ability to capture the subject of the customer's inquiryand to provide the customer with preliminary information. Web sites alsoenable a sales or marketing client to “prequalify” a customer—such asdetermining the type of consumer and the type and level of goods orservices sought by the consumer—before further contact with the consumertakes place. That is, a Web site can be used as a means to characterizethe consumer and the consumer's interest, a task not easily accomplishedby current IVR systems.

[0013] As important as these mechanisms for reaching customers andtransacting business are, however, today there is little relationshipbetween the activities of people calling into call centers using “800”or other telephone numbers and the activities of people interacting withInternet-based applications using Web browsers or other Internet-relatedapplications. Typically, a consumer browsing a Web page has nointeraction with call center environments. Information collected in theWeb environment is not correlated with a call coming into a call centerenvironment, and there is no pulling of Web interaction data into thecall flow.

[0014] Any relationship between call center and Internet browsingactivities is, for the most part, manually coordinated. For example, aconsumer using an Internet browser logged into the Internet may beviewing an HTML page from a company's Web site. While browsing the Webpage, the consumer may find information regarding a product or servicehe or she wishes to purchase, but the Web page may not have sufficientinformation to satisfy the consumer's interest in the product orservice. The consumer wishes to call the company for more informationregarding the product they have on their page. To obtain furtherinformation about the desired product or service, the consumer may callthe company's appropriate “800,” or other phone number, which may belisted on the Web page, and reach a call center managed by the company.However, in the typical scenario there is no information associated withthe call entering the call center regarding the consumer's interactionswith the Web site and what, if any, information the consumer has viewed.The consumer must verbally inform the agent of her discoveries on theWeb site or what information she might be viewing, or use othertraditional call center techniques, such as automatic numberidentification (ANI), IVR prompts, etc., provided by call centerenvironments to let the call center agent understand the reason for theincoming call.

[0015] There are emerging in the marketplace applications having somelimited capability of coordinating a consumer's interaction with acompany's Web site to a call center environment. Such applications, likethe one by Scopus Technology, provide the ability for a consumer whobrowses a company's Web site to initiate a call-back from a call centeragent for the company by, e.g., clicking on a Web site icon or button.Other such premise-based applications include PageCall™ by EdifyCorporation, WebCall by Spanlink Communications, and net.Vectoring byGenesys Labs.

[0016] According to information available at Spanlink's Web site(located at URL http://www.spanlink.com), “WebCall” prompts the customerfor information and advises the customer when a return call is to beexpected; the request for a call to the customer is transferred to acall center queue, from where an outbound call is eventually initiated.The call center agent who receives the call request also has access tocustomer information as well as information about what pages thecustomer has viewed at the Web site, through either a screen pop,text-to-speech synthesis or by whispering a URL reference number thatthe agent can enter; such information is, apparently, either stored atthe call center or made available through interaction with the serverhosting the Web site. Spanlink has also announced a service calledWebCall/RS which, apparently, will incorporate its WebCall applicationat a remote site operated by Spanlink for use with existing callcenters.

[0017] According to information available over Genesys' Web site(located at http://www.genesyslab.com), Genesys' net.Vectoringapplication ties together Genesys' telephony software, two-way real-timevideo conferencing and the Internet. When an Internet user clicks abutton to connect to an agent, a call is connected from the agent to theuser and the agent can view the Web page that a user is viewing (as wellas account data and information about the user's prior interaction withthe Web page). The application can also pass data for signaling to thetelephone network, permitting the network to set up the call.

[0018] According to information available at Edify's Web site (locatedat URL http://www.edify.com), PageCall™ enables a call center agent toretrieve customer information and to track what Web pages at the Website a customer has selected.

[0019] Although the above-described applications represent animprovement over the non-integration or manual integration of Web andcall center experiences, certain disadvantages remain. With the possibleexception of the WebCall/RS application by Spanlink, these applicationsare premise-based, meaning they are tied into a specific call centerenvironment; a Web site must interact with the call center in anapplication-specific manner, and the call center must incorporate thetechnology for receiving any customer identification or otherinformation from the Internet. These applications also generally do nothave the ability to route a call externally to any call center.

[0020] The above-identified shortcomings result in increased expense fordevelopment of integrated solutions. Web site developers need to beconcerned about the particular on-premise requirements for each system.Call center environments must incorporate the capability of making callrouting decisions based upon any information it receives about thecustomer's Web interaction.

[0021] Further, these applications do not provide bonding of Internetbrowsing sessions and call center sessions at the time the call requestis delivered to the call center. Session bonding in this context is theprocess of maintaining a continued association between the customer'sWeb session and the call between customer and call center. Sessionbonding would permit, e.g., the call center agent to pass information(such as visual information in a Web page) over the Internet to the userwhile, at the same time, speaking with the user over a telephoneconnection. To the extent the above-referenced applications provide anysession bonding (e.g., the Edify PageCall™ application), such bonding isaccomplished only from the call center to the customer, and only with anapplication-specific interface at the call center—requiring a tightcoupling between call center and customer. This has a disadvantage ofrequiring the call center to include mechanism for controlling theinteraction between telephone and Web communications. Such controlmechanism is not required within the call center environment if thebonding takes place external of the call center environment.

[0022] Coordination of the Internet browsing and call center activitiescan enhance the capability of using existing call centers and theInternet to provide the desired marketing, sales and customer handlingservices. For example, judgments about initiating or routing calls couldbe based upon Web interaction data.

[0023] What is desired is a way to enable coordination of information atthe network-based level between existing call centers and a packetnetwork, such as the Internet, to create improved integration of andbonding between call center and Web-based communication sessions inorder to increase productivity and efficiency and to enable better callrouting while delivering to the call center agent information about thecall and the customer along with the call. Such coordination anddelivery of information related to the person's interactions with theInternet along with the routing of calls would enable existing callcenters to obtain the advantages of coordinated Web interaction whileusing standard call center hardware and software without additionalcustomized hardware or software.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The present invention enables coordination of information at thenetwork-based level between call centers connectable over atelecommunications network, such as the telephone network, and a packetnetwork, such as the Internet, to create improved integration of andbonding between a customer's interaction with a Web site and with a callcenter. The invention provides delivery of information about thecustomer and the customer's Web interaction to the call center agentalong with the call, leading to increased productivity and efficiency incall handling as well as improved call routing.

[0025] The present invention enables call routing to existing callcenters based upon information from the Web experience, and sharing ofinformation from the user's Web interaction with the call center. Theinvention works with existing call center technology using known callcenter external control methods, such as DNIS signaling, to pass Webinteraction information to the call center. The present invention alsoenables information about the Web experience to be “whispered” to thecall center agent, and it enables an agent to “push” Web pages forreview by the customer. As a result, customer acquisition and salestools more powerful than a mere click-to-callback tool can be madeavailable with a combined marketing approach using the Web and callcenters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026]FIG. 1A shows a high-level diagram for an illustrativenetwork-based client-server architecture coordinating activities in theInternet and call center environments in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

[0027]FIG. 1B shows a detailed diagram for an illustrative network-basedclient-server architecture coordinating activities in the Internet andcall center environments in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0028]FIG. 2 depicts the message flows between the various participatingcomponents in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

[0029] The basic operation of the present invention is initiated by acustomer (also denoted as a user herein) who is engaged in a Webbrowsing session. The user visits a Web site associated with asubscriber. The subscriber utilizes a call center for sales andmarketing activity. A Web page at the site interacts with anetwork-based service embodied by the present invention that results ina call between the consumer and the call center. The highlights of theinvention are now briefly described below in the context of anetwork-based service platform implementation.

[0030] 1. Data Passing of Web-Related Information

[0031] One or more pages in a subscriber's Web site contain“speak-to-agent” icons. A user browsing the Web site may initiate a callwith an agent by clicking on one of the “speak-to-agent” icons. Eachsuch “speak-to-agent” icon is associated, on a one-to-one basis, withdata representing one or more characteristics of the Web site—userinteraction, such as a subject code, a subscriber identification and,optionally, network “whisper” codes. The Web site may also gatheradditional charateristics of the Web site—user interaction that may bedesired, such as information about the user and what the user seeks; theinformation could include entries by the user as well as informationgleaned from the user's interaction with the Web site. All of thisinformation provides the context of the user's Web interaction and willbe referred to in the aggregate as “TAG1.”

[0032] Each “speak-to-agent” icon also contains a URL that points to anetwork-based platform. When a user clicks on one of the“speak-to-agent” icons, the user's Web browser will initiate atransmission to the corresponding URL (a server at or associated withthe platform site) requesting transmission of an HTML script fordisplaying a Web page, corresponding to the URL, located at the platformsite. Each URL stored with the “speak-to-agent” icons is programmed sothat the TAG1 information about the user's interaction with the Web siteis passed to the platform by means of URL overloading. URL overloadinginvolves using standard methods for appending the data elements to theURL as a string of parameters. Using URL overloading in this fashionallows the platform to extract the TAG1 data from the overloaded URLusing known methods for extracting data from the string of parametersaccompanying the URL (as the platform will have access to the parametersappended to the platform-addressed URL).

[0033] 2. Web Context to Call Center Selection/Routing

[0034] The TAG1 data identifies the context of the user's interactionwith the Web site during the user 's Web session. Based upon thesubscriber identity element and optionally, other TAG1 information, theplatform will use the TAG1 data from the Web interaction to select anappropriate existing call center. The platform will then transform orconvert the TAG1 data to a form useful for generating a call to theselected call center along with transmission of information about theuser's Web interaction that can be used by the call center. Theconverted data and associated Web interaction information transmitted tothe call center along with the call will be referred to in the aggregateas “TAG2.” In one example of the conversion from TAG1 to TAG2 data, theplatform accesses a database containing a network abstraction table thatincludes TAG1 subscriber identity and subject code elements, along withcorresponding DNIS call center communications numbers. Using the subjectcode and subscriber ID TAG1 elements, the platform can then obtain fromthe network abstraction table DNIS routing data for connecting a call toan appropriate call center using DNIS codes; use of DNIS codes takesadvantage of standard DNIS-based call-routing capabilities of callcenters, thus allowing the call center to further route the call usingthe extracted and converted Web interaction information. In addition tostandard DNIS codes, other examples of TAG2 information include ANI(providing the user's telephone number), user-to-user information (UUI),network-to-user information (NUI), touch-tones—via dual tone multiplefrequency (DTMF) reception, whispering, and IP messaging.

[0035] Thus, for example, the platform can take the subscriber identityand subject code elements of TAG1 and, using a database, map theseelements into a toll free telephone number representing the number forthe call center and TAG2 information consisting of a unique DNIS coderepresentative of the subject matter. The platform can then originate acall to the call center using the toll free number, with the DNIS codeset according to the DNIS database. The call center can then route thecall to the appropriate agent according to the DNIS code. In this way,use of TAG2 information such as a DNIS code provides a basic method ofpassing information corresponding to the subject matter of the Web siteinteraction along to the call center.

[0036] 3. Web Context to Agent Data Passing

[0037] TAG2 information can also provide a means to pass Web interactioninformation along to a call center agent. For example, the optionalwhisper code of TAG1 identifies data from the session on the Web site tobe passed to the call center agent. Thus, once the call center hasrouted the call to an agent and the agent answers the call, the networkplatform can “whisper” to the agent informing the agent of the Webcontext of the call and allowing the agent to associate data collectedon the Web with the call. One way in which this may be accomplished isto transform the TAG1 whisper code into an audio message (e.g., aprerecorded message) which is then played over the call connection tothe agent. Besides prerecorded messages, other audio messages that maybe “whispered” to the agent include, for example, Web site pageidentifiers, or other information determined by the whisper code ofTAG1. Optionally, the authority of the call center and/or the agent toreceive information concerning the Web session interaction (which couldinclude user information) could be verified before any information isdelivered to the call center or to the agent.

[0038] 4. Bonding of Voice Call and Web Data Sessions

[0039] The network-based platform coordinates and controls the“speak-to-agent” call flows. The platform captures the subject code,optional “whisper” code, and subscriber ID that are passed by the Website through URL overloading (as described above) for use in the callflow of connecting a user with a call center agent. The platform alsocontains Web “welcome” pages for user entry of a callback number for theuser and, optionally, other user information.

[0040] While calls to the call center and user are being set up, theplatform can access a database to obtain URLs for displaying pages tothe user. These pages can be informational or for advertising purposes.

[0041] Once calls are established with the user and with the callcenter, the platform bridges the calls, enabling user and call centeragent to speak. Through the platform, the agent can also passinformation along to the user while they are speaking.

[0042] 5. Agent to Web Data Passing

[0043] The agent can send information to the user while the agent andthe user are speaking. An example of transmitting information from agentto user involves a “page-push” operation, where the call center agentpresents information in the form of a Web page to the user's Webbrowser. The user's browser would then display the Web page to the user.

[0044] The platform can enable the “page-push” function by storing Webpages in a database and sending one or more Web pages selected from thedatabase to the user's browser. The page-push function can be executedin response to a request from the call center agent. Such a request canbe transmitted from agent to call center using, e.g., touch-tone or IPmessaging from the call center to the platform.

[0045] The “page push” function may be accomplished using touch-tonemessaging in the following way. The agent selects one or more “pages” ofinformation to send and presses touch tones on his/her telephone. Thetouch tones, corresponding to unique predefined Web pages for theparticular subscriber, are received by the platform. The platform thencauses the corresponding Web pages to be transmitted to the user via theuser's Web session.

[0046] Note that the association between user and call center isapplicable to any one of a number of potential voice communicationchannels, such as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)-to-POTSconnections, Internet phone to -POTS connections, Internet phone toInternet phone connections, and other media permutations. All of thesecould include wired or wireless connections.

Architecture

[0047] A high level block diagram for an architecture implementing thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1A. With reference to FIG. 1, thesystem is based upon a client-server architecture. The client (alsodenoted as “user” herein) 100 communicates with Internet 110 throughcommunications link 120, which may include one or more of a number ofknown channels, e.g., a private connection, the public switchedtelephone network, a local area network (LAN) connection, a Serial LineInternet Protocol (SLIP) or Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connectionover a modem or over an ISDN port. The communications between user 100and Internet 110 may be made through an Internet service provider. Thecommunications link 120 preferably includes an IP-compatible interface.Thus, user 100 may be linked through communications link 120 to Internet110 in an interactive communications session, such as Web browsing.

[0048] Information about a company subscribing to the Web—call centerintegration service of the present invention is stored in a Web sitelocatable over Internet 110 using a Web browser and standard URLdesignation. This Web site associated with the subscriber is maintainedon Web server 115.

[0049] The Web—call center integration network service platform 130 hasa processor unit 135 embodying the typical features of a computersystem, i.e, a processor, memory, and one or more communication ports,etc. Platform 130 also has a telecommunications unit 140 which performsfunctions typically found in existing telecommunications equipment, suchas, for example, network switching capability for initiating and routingcalls on a telecommunications network (e.g., the PSTN), and interactivevoice response capability which includes, e.g., handling oftext-to-speech transformation and DTMF recognition (used for detectingkeys pressed on a touch-tone keypad).

[0050] Network service platform 130 communicates with Internet 110 overcommunications link 145, which may include one or more of the knownchannels, e.g., a private connection, the public switched telephonenetwork, a local area network (LAN) connection, a Serial Line InternetProtocol (SLIP) or Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection over a modemor over an ISDN port. Communications link 145, like link 120, preferablyincludes an IP-compatible interface.

[0051] Network service platform 130 is also connected to voicecommunications network 150 over telecommunications link 160. Link 160would typically include a network telecommunications interface, such asT1 line. Voice telecommunications network 150 would typically include along distance telephone carrier network on the PSTN and is used toestablish a telephone connection between the user 100 and a call center170 which is associated with the subscriber. Voice network 150 isconnected to user 100 via telecommunications link 180, and to callcenter 170 via telecommunications link 190. Telecommunications links 180and 190 would each typically include a telecommunications network, suchas a private telephone network or the PSTN.

[0052]FIG. 1B provides a more detailed depiction of the architecture,shown in FIG. 1A, for one embodiment of the present invention. User 100has communications apparatus typically comprising a computer-basedworkstation 101, such as a personal computer, for interacting with theInternet and a voice communications device 102 (e.g., a telephone) forinteracting with a voice communications network, such as the PSTN. Auser at workstation 101 may interact with Internet 110 throughcommunications link 120, which may include the public switched telephonenetwork routed through a local exchange carrier (LEC) 121.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 1B, the processing unit 135 contained withinplatform 130 may comprise one or more servers, such as: database server131, which controls database 132; page presentation server 133 forstoring and coordinating the presentation of Web pages to user 100; andcall manager server 134 for coordinating and controlling the operationsof network services platform 130. Servers 131, 133 and 134 are connectedto each other over local area network (LAN) 136. LAN 136 connects toInternet 110 through an IP-compatible connection 145, such as PPP orSLIP, etc. Database 132, which could be a single database or a set ofmultiple databases, contains data for selecting a call center anddetermining “TAG2” Web interaction information to accompany the call.

[0054] Telecommunications unit 140 of platform 130 comprises atelecommunications switching device 141, which is compatible with thePSTN, and a voice response unit (VRU) 142, which may also be connectedto LAN 136. Switch 141 handles the function of establishing calls tocall center 170 and to user 100 over voice network 150. Typically, acall may be established by instructing telecommunications switch 141 toplace a call to a communications number, which communications numbercould, e.g., correspond to a DNIS code.

[0055] VRU 142 performs the task of test-to-speech conversion whichenables the whispering function. VRU 142 may also perform otherfunctions typically performed by telecommunications equipment, such asplayback of prerecorded messages (which may be intermixed with thewhisper-coded speech and played to the call center agent) andinterception and conversion of DTMF signals sent by the call centeragent to the platform. Switch 141 may be one of a number of switchingdevices known in the telecommunications industry; switch 141 may also bepart of one of a number of known telecommunications platforms thatincludes the functions of VRU 142.

[0056] Processing unit 135 and VRU 142 are connected through switch 141and link 160 to voice communications network 150. Voice communicationsnetwork 150 typically includes a long distance telecommunicationsnetwork on the PSTN and is used to establish a voice connection betweenthe user 100 and the subscriber's call center 170.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functionsperformed by servers 131, 133 and 134 of the present invention describedabove could also effectively be performed using a single processor unitor, equivalently, in any number of combinations of processor unit(s)and/or server(s).

[0058] The subscriber's call center 170 typically contains an automaticcall distribution (ACD) element 171 for connecting a call to agent 172through a telephone 173. Agent 172 may also have access to a workstation174 (such as a PC). ACD 171 and workstation 174 are typically connectedthrough LAN 175 to a database 176 containing company informationconcerning the subscriber and its products or services.

[0059] Once it is determined by network service platform 130 that user100 should be connected by voice to call center 170, platform 130 causesa voice call to be made from network 150 to user 100 (which may berouted through LEC 121) and from network 150 to call center 170; thesecalls are bridged together establishing a voice call between user 100and call center 170. It will be clear to those skilled in the art thatthere are many configurations for routing a call from platform 130 tocall center 170 over voice network 150, which configurations couldinclude, for example, routing the call through a local exchange carrier,or through a packet network. Similarly, there are many configurationsfor routing a call from platform 130 to user 100 over voice network 150.Any of these routing configuations may be utilized in placing calls tothe call center and to the user in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0060] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the presentinvention is equally applicable to the Internet and to other packetnetworks, such as corporate intranets, which are typically privateIP-compatible networks having functionality similar to that of theInternet.

[0061] With reference to the architecture described above and depictedin FIG. 1A and with respect to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, furtherdetails of the present invention will now be set forth.

Typical Call Flow

[0062] A typical session and the message flows between variouscomponents, in the context of a network-based platform implementation ofthe present invention, are described below with reference to FIG. 2.References to the architecture are included using the same numberedcomponents as referred to in FIG. 1B. FIG. 2 depicts the message flowsbetween user 100, Web server 115 maintaining the subscriber's Web site,the network platform 130, voice network 150 (such as a telephone networkinterconnected by 4ESS® toll switches), call center 170 and call centeragent 172. A default scenario is assumed in which the user is calledprior to the launching of a call to the call center. The timing of thecall placements is expected to be configurable by the subscriber anddefined in policy entries in the subscriber database.

[0063] The fundamental operation of the present invention is initiatedby a user who is engaged in a Web browsing session. A Web siteassociated with a subscriber contains a “speak to agent” icon on a Webpage at the site. At step 201, a Web session is underway with a userbrowsing Internet 110. The user locates the subscriber Web site andviews a subscriber's page at its Web site. The subscriber's Web site ismaintained on Web server 115 which can be operated by the subscriber orby a third party. On this Web page is a “Speak to Agent” icon with anassociated overloaded URL. The overloaded URL specifies the networkplatform and “TAG1” information: a network platform “welcome” page, thesubscriber's indentifier (SID), and a subject code (SC) related to theWeb page being viewed. In addition, the subscriber application may embedan optional “whisper code” character string in the URL which containsinformation specific to the user records at the subscriber's call center170 or other information used by call center 170. If the subscriberapplication captures the user telephone number it may also be passed tothe network platform in the overloaded URL. There may be several iconson a given Web page corresponding to different subject codes.

[0064] Step 202: The user clicks on a “Speak to Agent” icon and theuser's browser contacts the network platform 130 via the URL whichpoints to platform 130. Through URL overloading, the network platformURL identifies the TAG1 SID and SC elements associated with the Web pagethat the user was browsing. Network platform 130 also captures an IPaddress of the user (or the user's proxy).

[0065] Step 203: Network platform 130 may check subscriber informationcontained in database 132 to see whether certain preconditions forestablishing a connection to a call center 170 are present (e.g., is thecall center accepting network calls from the region the user is callingfrom at that time or day). If the call is allowed, network platform 130sends a “Welcome to Network Services” greeting page (or somethingsimilar) over Internet 110 via connection 145.

[0066] The user's telephone number for receiving the call may beascertained in any number of known ways, e.g., prompting the user forthe telephone number or for information (such as a network user ID, apassword, or a customer code assigned to the user by the call center)from which platform 130 may determine the user's telephone number.Optionally, the greeting page may present information to the user andask for confirmation.

[0067] Step 204: User 100 enters or confirms the requested information(which may include a telephone number) on the Web page and submits itover Internet 110 to network platform 130.

[0068] Step 205: The network platform 130 sends a “Connect Page” back tothe user over Internet 110 indicating that the call center has beencontacted and that user should expect a voice call in the future. TheConnect Page may contain additional information or promotional contentprovided by the subscriber. Network platform 130 translates the TAG1 SIDand subject code elements into a telephone number for a call centerspecified by the subscriber and associated TAG2 data by, e.g., lookingup data from database 132 (which may be indexed according to thesubject-code and to the subscriber ID). In the case where the telephonenumber for the call center is a toll free telephone number, the TAG2information may include a unique DNIS code (representative of thesubject matter) corresponding to DNIS codes expected at the call centerassociated with the subscriber, and the call to be set up and originatedto call center 170 will use the toll free number with the DNIS code setaccording to database 132.

[0069] Step 206: Network platform 130 initiates the calling process viaplatform switch 141 for placing calls on the PSTN 150 to the user 100and to the call center 170. A default timing of the call placementscould be to first call the user or, alternatively, the call center; theorder and timing of the call placements may be specified in database132. The calls may be placed simultaneously or after one or another ofthe legs of the call has gone off hook. If user 100 is called beforecall center 170, network platform 130 will play an announcement to theuser indicating that the call center is being contacted. The remainderof this call flow description will assume that call center 170 is calledonly after a connection is first established with the telephone line ofuser 100.

[0070] Step 207: Switch 141 of network platform 130 initiates a callover voice telephone network 150 to user 100, which rings the user'stelephone 102.

[0071] Step 208: The user answers, which generates an offhook signal onPSTN 150 ultimately received by network platform 130 via switch 141.

[0072] Step 209: Network platform 130 plays an announcement throughswitch 141 and PSTN 150 to user 100.

[0073] Step 210: Switch 141 of network platform 130 initiates a call tocall center 170 over voice telephone network 150 with TAG2 Webinteraction data accompanying the call. The TAG2 informationaccompanying the call may, in the case where the call center telephonenumber is toll-free, include DNIS codes.

[0074] Step 211: Voice telephone network 150 routes the call to ACD 171at the call center 170 site, including accompanying TAG2 data.

[0075] Step 212: Call center ACD 171 connects the incoming call to callcenter agent 172.

[0076] Step 213: Agent 172 “signs on” to network platform 130 by, e.g.,sending a unique DTMF tone sequence (such as # or *) over PSTN 150through ACD 171. If a DTMF tone sequence is used, the sequence would beintercepted at platform 130 by VRU 142.

[0077] Step 214: Network platform 130 “whispers” user information toagent 172 via text-to-speech transformation using VRU 142, which sendsthe whispered speech to agent 172 over voice network 150 through ACD171. The whispered information may correspond to a customer codeassigned by call center 170 to user 100.

[0078] Step 215: Network platform 130 bridges the two legs of the voiceconnection together, so that user 100 and the call center agent 172 maybegin a voice conversation.

[0079] Step 216: Agent 172 may suggest that the user 100 receiveadditional information over Internet 110 via the user Web link 120. Ifthe user agrees, agent 172 selects pages to “push” to the user; this isaccomplished by, e.g., entering a sequence of one or more DTMF digitswhich is captured by VRU 142 in network platform 130 and translated byplatform 130 into one or more HTML pages stored in Page PresentationServer 133 of platform 130.

[0080] Step 217: Page Presentation Server 133 causes the HTML page(s)selected by agent 172 to be sent to user 100 through connection 145,Internet 110 and Web link 120. The browser on the user's PC 101 causesthe Web page to be displayed. (Steps 216 and 217 may be repeated duringthe course of the session.)

[0081] Step 218: The user and call center agent may complete anybusiness to be transacted. By mutual consent, user 100 and agent 172terminate the voice connection and disconnect signals are sent throughPSTN 150 to network platform 130. The voice connection is thenterminated.

[0082] Step 219: Network platform 130 sends a final “Web Disconnect”page to user 100 terminating the Web interaction between the subscriberand the user.

[0083] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoingdiscussion represents only one possible embodiment of the presentinvention, and that other embodiments are possible. In particular, theuse of DNIS codes and “whispering” of user information to the callcenter agent are but two alternatives for passing information about theuser's Web session to the call center, and that other known methodsexist in the telecommunications industry for transferring suchinformation to the call center. Such methods may include, e.g., use ofANI (providing the user's telephone number), user-to-user information(UUI), network-to-user information (NUI), touch-tones (via DTMFreception), and IP messaging. Those skilled in the art will furtherrecognize that some of the above-described messaging and signaling, suchas a greeting page, a connect page, and announcements played to the userare optional and, where present, may be varied in their content andorder of presentation without affecting the nature of the presentinvention.

[0084] The present invention may be implemented using hardware andsoftware components known in the industry for implementing the requiredfunctionality as described above. Alternatively, the present inventioncould be implemented on a computer-based telephone network platform,such as the Lucent CONVERSANT ® platform, which is well-known in thetelecommunications industry.

[0085] In summary, a system and method for coordinating information atthe network-based level between existing call centers and the Internethas been described which creates improved integration of and bondingbetween a customer's interaction with a Web site and with a call center.

[0086] What has been described is merely illustrative of the applicationof the principles of the present invention. Other arrangements andmethods can be implemented by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of causing a call to be placed to a callcenter associated with a subscriber in response to an act done by a userlinked in an interactive communication session with a packet network,comprising the steps of: a. receiving over the packet networkinformation corresponding to at least one characteristic of theinteractive communication session; b. transforming the receivedinformation into a form suitable for placing a call over atelecommunications network to the call center, said call being routableby the call center in accordance with the information corresponding toat least one characteristic of the interactive communication session;and c. initiating placement of a call to the call center in accordancewith the transformed information.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the packet network comprises at least one of the Internet and anintranet.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interactivecommunication session comprises Web browsing.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session includes at least one of an identity of thesubscriber and a subject matter associated with the interactivecommunication session.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein thestep of receiving information over the packet network includes receivinginformation transmitted over the packet network using a uniform resourcelocator (URL).
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step oftransforming the information into a form suitable for placing a callover a telecommunications network to the call center includes the stepof using a database containing at least one entry for informationcorresponding to at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session and at least one entry corresponding to acommunications number for the call center.
 7. The method according toclaim 6, wherein the at least one entry corresponding to acommunications number for the call center comprises a dialed numberidentification service (DNIS) code.
 8. The method according to claim 6,wherein the at least one characteristic of the interactive communicationsession includes at least one of an identity of the subscriber and asubject matter associated with the interactive communication session. 9.The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transforming thereceived information into a form suitable for placing a call over atelecommunications network to the call center comprises transforming thereceived information into a dialed number identification service (DNIS)code.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step ofinitiating placement of a call to the call center in accordance with thetransformed information comprises instructing a telecommunicationsswitch coupled to the telecommunications network to place a call to acommunications number corresponding to the DNIS code.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein: a. the packet network comprises at leastone of the Internet and an intranet; b. the interactive communicationsession comprises Web browsing; c. the at least one characteristic ofthe interactive communication session includes at least one of anidentity of the subscriber and a subject matter associated with theinteractive communication session; d. the step of receiving informationover the packet network includes receiving information transmitted overthe packet network using a uniform resource locator (URL); e. the stepof transforming the received information into a form suitable forplacing a call over a telecommunications network to the call centercomprises transforming the received information into a dialed numberidentification service (DNIS) code using a database containing at leastone entry for information corresponding to at least one characteristicof the interactive communication session and at least one entrycorresponding to a communications number for the call center; and f. thestep of initiating placement of a call to the call center in accordancewith the transformed information comprises instructing atelecommunications switch coupled to the telecommunications network toplace a call to a communications number corresponding to the DNIS code.12. A method of sending, in response to a signal from a call center, acommunication over a packet network to a user linked in an interactivecommunication session with the packet network, comprising the steps of:a. receiving the signal from the call center over a telecommunicationsnetwork; b. determining from the received signal at least one page,displayable to the user on a display device, to send to the user; c.sending the displayable page to the user over the packet network. 13.The method according to claim 12, wherein the signal received from thecall center comprises at least one dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF)code.
 14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the displayable pagecorresponds to a page displayable using a Web browser.
 15. A method ofcorrelating information between a call center associated with asubscriber and a packet network linked in an interactive communicationsession with a user, comprising the steps of: a. receiving over thepacket network information corresponding to at least one characteristicof the interactive communication session; b. communicating theinformation corresponding to at least one characteristic of theinteractive communication session to the call center over atelecommunications network; and c. bonding a telecommunications sessionbetween the user and the call center together with the interactivecommunication session.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein thepacket network comprises at least one of the Internet and an intranet.17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the interactivecommunication session comprises Web browsing.
 18. The method accordingto claim 15, wherein the at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session includes at least one of an identity of thesubscriber and a subject matter associated with the interactivecommunication session.
 19. The method according to claim 15, wherein thestep of receiving information over the packet network includes receivinginformation transmitted over the packet network using a uniform resourcelocator (URL).
 20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step ofcommunicating the information corresponding to at least onecharacteristic of the interactive communication session to the callcenter over a telecommunications network includes the step oftransforming the information into a form suitable for placing a callover a telecommunications network to the call center, said call beingroutable by the call center in accordance with the informationcorresponding to at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein thestep of the step of transforming the information into a form suitablefor placing a call over a telecommunications network to the call centerincludes the step of using a database containing at least one entry forinformation corresponding to at least one characteristic of theinteractive communication session and at least one entry correspondingto a communications number for the call center.
 22. The method accordingto claim 21, wherein the at least one entry corresponding to acommunications number for the call center comprises a dialed numberidentification service (DNIS) code.
 23. The method according to claim21, wherein the at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session includes at least one of an identity of thesubscriber and a subject matter associated with the interactivecommunication session.
 24. The method according to claim 20, wherein thestep of transforming the received information into a form suitable forplacing a call over a telecommunications network to the call centercomprises transforming the received information into a dialed numberidentification service (DNIS) code.
 25. The method according to claim15, wherein the step of bonding a telecommunications session between theuser and the call center together with the interactive communicationsession includes bridging a telecommunications connection to the usertogether with a telecommunications connection to the call centerassociated with the subscriber to establish a telecommunicationsconnection between the user and the call center while the packet networkremains linked in the interactive communications session with the user.26. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step ofsending a communication to the user over the packet network.
 27. Themethod according to claim 26, wherein the step of sending acommunication to the user over the packet network includes sending apage displayable to the user on a display device.
 28. The methodaccording to claim 27, wherein the displayable page corresponds to apage displayable using a Web browser.
 29. The method according to claim26, wherein the step of sending a communication to the user over thepacket network is performed in response to a signal from the callcenter.
 30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the signal fromthe call center comprises at least one dual tone multiple frequency(DTMF) code.
 31. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step ofcommunicating the information corresponding to at least onecharacteristic of the interactive communication session to the callcenter over a telecommunications network includes the step of sendingaudio signals representing the information to the call center.
 32. Themethod according to claim 31, wherein the step of sending audio signalsrepresenting the information to the call center comprises: a.transforming the information into audible sounds; and b. playing theaudible sounds over a telecommunications connection established with thecall center.
 33. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step ofcommunicating the information corresponding to at least onecharacteristic of the interactive communication session includesverifying the authority of the call center to receive the information.34. A system for correlating information between a call centerassociated with a subscriber and a packet network linked in aninteractive communication session with a user, comprising: a. atelecommunications unit coupled to a telecommunications network; and b.a processing unit coupled to the packet network and to thetelecommunications unit, wherein the processing unit is programmed tocarry out the steps of controlling the correlation of informationbetween the call center and the packet network, which steps include: (1)receiving over the packet network information corresponding to at leastone characteristic of the interactive communication session; (2)instructing the telecommunications unit to communicate the informationcorresponding to at least one characteristic of the interactivecommunication session to the call center over a telecommunicationsnetwork; and (3) initiating the bonding of a telecommunications sessionbetween the user and the call center together with the interactivecommunication session.
 35. The system according to claim 34, wherein theprocessing unit comprises: a. a computer; b. a database; and c. at leastone of: (1) a database server; (2) a call manager server; and (3) a pagepresentation server.
 36. The system according to claim 34, wherein thetelecommunications unit comprises a telecommunications switch and avoice response unit.
 37. The system according to claim 34, wherein thepacket network comprises at least one of the Internet and an intranet.38. The system according to claim 34, wherein the interactivecommunication session comprises Web browsing.